After a tough season in Bloomington, it is rumored that Mike Woodson will be stepping down as the head coach of Indiana at the end of the year. He is expected to finish out the remainder of the year. This is not an unexpected outcome as fans have been displeased for several years with the results on the court.
Mike Woodson to Step Down as Indiana Basketball Coach
How Did We Get Here?
A few seasons ago, Woodson had the Hoosiers rolling. Trayce Jackson-Davis was one of the best players in the country and the Hoosiers finished second in the Big Ten. Woodson was also lighting it up on the recruiting trail getting highly ranked high school and transfer players. But, last season was a step back. Indiana missed the NCAA Tournament and the style of play was archaic. Two big men, no shooting, and slow play. This was when fans began to sour on Woodson. They believed his old-school style of coaching was not fit for the modern game.
This season has been even worse. Indiana is almost certainly not making the tournament and doesn’t look very good either. This is after spending a ton of money in the transfer portal to bring in big-name guys such as Oumar Ballo .
Who Will Replace Him?
The most interesting part of this scenario is who Woodson’s replacement will be. Indiana is one of the best jobs in college basketball and will be highly sought after. One name that will be linked to the Hoosiers is Dusty May . Even though he is still in his first season with Michigan but that might not stop him from jumping to Bloomington. May was a student manager for Indiana under Bob Knight. He is also from Terre Haute, so it would be a homecoming in two ways. But it may be hard money-wise to bring May in. Either way, his coaching acumen is undeniable and the connection is very strong. Fans have also expressed interest in May.
Another name that will be linked to the Hoosiers is Brad Stevens . He was rumored to be offered the job during Woodson’s hiring process but ultimately turned it down. The Celtics’ President of Basketball Operations was an incredibly successful coach in both the NBA and in college. He is from Zionsville, Indiana and was the coach of Butler when they made it to the back-to-back national championships. However, he stepped away from coaching a few years ago and has not expressed interest in returning. However Indiana likely attempts to lure him back to the college game.
A final name that could be linked to the Hoosiers is Chris Beard . While there are no personal links to the state or the program, Beard will be considered because of his immense success. He made the NCAA Tournament championship game with Texas Tech. Now he is at Ole Miss and has made them a top 25 team in the country. However, Ole Miss will never dedicate the same resources to basketball that Indiana will, therefore he might look to make the jump soon.
It will be interesting to see who Indiana hires. Woodson was seen as an excellent hire at the time, but did not live up to his NBA pedigree. There will be plenty of rumors as this will likely be the biggest program looking for a coach in the recruiting cycle.
The post Mike Woodson Likely to Step Down as Indiana Basketball Coach appeared first on Last Word On Basketball .